Rain coats as high fashion, all weather, travel perfect options were all the rage in the early 1960s, with water-repellent day and evening styles made in everything from wool and cotton to silk taffeta and synthetics. Over the course of its three plus decades in existence, Main Street Fashions contributed hugely to the development of this trend, hiring top designers from Bonnie Cashin in the early 1950s to Diane von Furstenberg, Donald Brooks, and Bill Blass in the mid- and late 1970s.

Main Street Fashions’ designer in 1959 and 1960 was Gene Lloyd, a fashion illustrator and artist who had worked with Chanel and Balenciaga, and whose 1959 offerings included floral coats with contrast trim and a velvet-collared brocade Chesterfield for evening. In 1961, NY-based sportswear Dot Sherman took over, offering 40 designs for which she cited Jackie Kennedy’s style as an influence. While this coat can’t be attributed to either of these two designers with absolute certainty, it clearly reflect aspects of both their work. Photo #8 shows examples of Main Street Chesterfield silhouette coats offered from 1958 through 1964.